Triathletes soaked in rain, sweat
by Simon Levine
Thirty-two current students, graduates, faculty and members of the greater Richmond community all packed into Weber Pool early Saturday morning to compete in Earlham’s 26th annual Triathlon.
At 7:30 a.m., a larger group of triathletes started their one-mile swim. A smaller, more experienced group followed them at 8:30 a.m. After their swim, participants completed a 19.2-mile bike ride and a 6.2-mile run up Abington Pike.
In the men’s group, community member David DaPrato reached an early lead thanks to a blazing 22:25 minute swim, but a flat tire during the biking leg slowed him down. This opened up the opportunity for another community member, Kory George, to grab the win.
George finished with an overall time of 2:05:43. Finishing in third was senior Galen Wilder, with a time of 2:15:51.
In the women’s division, senior Mary Trinh won with an overall time of 2:41:26. The second place spot went to Religious Life Director Kelly Burk whose total was 2:47:20. In third place, senior Amy Boxell completed the race in 2:57:20.
The team division was won by the team of Taylor Felker, Steve Williams and Thomas Hale. Felker swam in 27:56, Williams biked in 53:30, and Hale ran in 49:01 for a team total of 2:11:01.
The second place team consisted of senior Emily Doering and junior Molly Fallon. Fallon swam in 34:35 and ran in 51:09. Doering added a bike time of 1:09:30 for a team total of 2:35:29.
In third place were Trinh, senior Ian Cross, and senior Tom Wilson. Trinh swam in 26:05, Cross biked in 1:20:30 and Wilson ran in 47:38 for a total of 2:35:58.
Fallon was enthusiastic about the race, adding that she would compete “next year, for sure.”
Fallon’s teammate, Doering, was candid about her struggles and triumphs in the race: “The bike route is super hilly and at one point I was crawling up a hill, gasping for breath. Once I got off the bike to do the run, I felt like I had jellyfish limbs for the first mile. After that, though, the running got better. By the end, I was feeling great.”
When asked why she took on such an arduous task, Doering pointed to her desire for a challenge.
“The triathlon simultaneously intrigued and terrified me,” Doering said. “I signed up for the tri class with my coach Pat Thomas and once I got to training I began to think of it as a huge challenge and having a goal is always exciting”
Many students cited similar reasons. Third-place men’s finisher Wilder said, “It’s fun. It’s a challenge to see how hard you can push yourself.”
Wilder, who has competed in three Earlham triathlons, was among those students with prior experience, but for some, like senior Andres Guzman, the Earlham Triathlon was their first foray into the sport.
“I’d never done it,” said Guzman, who finished with a time of 2:50:36 and was influenced by his brother, who had competed in triathlons before.
Asked how he felt about the event, Guzman responded, “I was very happy with it. It was well organized.”
The event drew only moderate attendance, likely due to the early Saturday start time and the drizzling rain, which varied in intensity throughout the event. However, those who attended were emphatic.
Senior Kristen Georgia said, “It’s exciting. They’ve worked really hard all semester. It’s fun to see it all come together.”
Senior Will Katz enjoyed the communal nature of the event, saying, “It was cool to be out there and to see the Earlham and Richmond communities come together like that.”
Director of Wellness Operations Shanna Nolan and Pat Thomas, coach of the cross-country teams, organized the triathlon. Thomas described his involvement with the event as, “More timing and results” while crediting Nolan as the force behind organizing logistics.
Earlham’s first triathlon was in 1984. Alumnus Andy White with 1:54:21 holds the record for fastest men’s time, while Holly Kitson holds the women’s record with 2:13:44.
Baseball team 8 for 24, looking ahead
By Bryant Foreman
Last year the baseball team was competitive against Robert Morris-Springfield, yet this year the Quakers lost all but one game to the Illinois team as they split the first doubleheader with a 6-5 win and a 9-6 loss, respectively. The second day didn’t turn out well for the struggling team, which fell in Sunday’s doubleheader 13-6 and 6-4, respectively, as the team was especially desperate for more pitching help.
Junior pitcher/first baseman Conner Gable relieved junior pitcher Adam Painter to get the only win of the weekend in the first game. Gable only gave up one hit in the final four frames to get his first win of the season.
Freshman infielder Chris Baumann highlighted the victory with a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning to get the winning RBI.
“Conner [Gable] did a great job stepping into the game in relief,” said Painter, who has been worked heavily at the mound in the past five games. “He gave us a chance to win late in the game, and that’s all you can ask from your bullpen in a game like that.”
The second game, however, did not come as easy for the Quakers. Junior pitcher/infielder Corey Murray suffered the loss for the team after pitching five innings in the Saturday’s second game. Baumann highlighted with a triple in the first frame for the baseball team, and freshman catcher Nathan Chandler had a two-run double in the bottom of the third.
Sunday was even harder for Earlham. The Quakers suffered a hard high-scoring loss as they gave up 13 runs on Robert Morris-Springfield’s 15 runs in the first game. Baumann and freshman pitcher Justin Broach both worked the mound in the contest.
The Quakers struggled at the plate, as they were only able to supply five hits. Gable started the second game and would go the distance for the second game on Sunday, giving up six runs on nine hits to the Eagles.
Gable also went 2-4 at the plate, and freshman outfielder Chris Tillery went 2-3 in the Quaker’s narrow loss. The Earlham College baseball team, however, is trying to keep their spirits up going into the last bit of the season.
Sophomore outfielder Tyler Schroeder said, “I think in the past few weeks we have been too worried about succeeding instead of just relaxing and playing our game. We just need to play to the best of our ability and take one game at a time.”
Assistant Baseball Coach Steve Sakosits is also positive about the remainder of the season and the offseason.
“We haven’t put the basis of our game together. Our young players play very well in phases as well as our older guys, but we haven’t had them put it all together at once.”
With only one more home series left, coach Sakosits was asked about next season’s prospects. He responded, “We have 13 committed players for next year already. We have to upgrade everywhere to get some depth. Pitching is one of the things that we really need to have and have really focused on acquiring for next year.”
The baseball team fell to Denison University 2-1 in eight innings and 12-0 in a doubleheader on Wednesday to close their conference schedule, but the games ended too late for details.
Frisbee teams conquer in tournament
Photos by Elsa Haag
Inside the mind of Earlham athlete Will Katz
By Adam Tobin
After a brief hiatus, Mind of An Athlete (MoA) returns to the Word for its first installment in several months. This column is an in depth profile of an Earlham student-athlete and gives readers a more personal account of who the athlete is beyond the varsity sport they participate in at Earlham.
This week MoA profiles Will Katz, a senior English major from Seattle and a four-year member of the men’s soccer team.
Earlham Word: What are your hobbies and interests outside of going to classes every day and writing papers?
Will Katz: I enjoy playing soccer, playing the guitar and sailing.
EW: Let’s get these fun facts out of the way quickly. If you can, name your favorite movie, sports team, and favorite music you listen to.
WK: That’s tough, but for movie I would have to go with “Finding Nemo.” I don’t really follow professional sports at all, so I’ll just say the Seattle Supersonics (NBA). In terms of music, I listen to a lot of blues music. My favorites include Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Also, Tupac.
EW: If you could do Earlham over again, what would you do differently?
WK: Honestly, I would say not playing on a varsity sports team, if I were to have done something differently. That’s definitely the biggest component that I’ve thought about.
EW: Everyone likes to hear an embarrassing story, so do you have any tales to share?
WK: Actually, I immediately think of this incident my first year involving Jim Watts, the former women’s soccer coach. One of his players was celebrating her birthday and he surprised her by making her a cake with my face printed on the cake. He literally printed a headshot of me in a soccer uniform, put it on the cake, and then showed it to both soccer teams.
EW: While we’re talking about soccer, let’s talk about your career on the team. Name a best and worst moment during your four-year stint?
WK: Well definitely my worst moment on the soccer team happened my sophomore year when I broke my arm in a really, really stupid way. It caused me to miss the duration of the season, which was nearly all of our games, since we had only played one or two by that point. That might have been the worst moment of my life.
I’d have to say the best moment of my career on the team was when I was awarded Defensive MVP this past fall. Also, members of the team participated in a tournament at Anderson three weeks ago and we won it. That was the last time I got to play with my teammates.
EW: Any words of advice you’d give to your teammates after you’re gone?
WK: I’d only mention Big Run. It’s a phrase that Roy [men’s head soccer coach] uses a lot.
EW: Any accomplishments, accolades you’re proud of?
WK: Definitely the MVP award. There’s also the Wendall Stanley Scholar Athlete Award and the Ruby Davis Humanities Award, which I received at the awards convocation a couple weeks ago.
EW: Any plans after you graduate? What’s your outlook on jobs?
WK: This summer I’ll be teaching teenagers, struggling inner city kids in Seattle, who are making the transition into high school and prep them for the next level. It’s like a summer school and day camp where there are both classes and camp activities. This will actually be my fourth year working at this program. I am definitely postponing going to graduate school. For now I want to work in Seattle and live with friends.
EW: Do you have a dream job?
WK: Ideally I would love to teach English in either the Middle East or Paris. It would be a combination of having that teaching job, but also in a supportive community or city.
EW: Pretty cliché, but what will you miss about Earlham after you leave?
WK: I won’t know until I graduate, I guess. However, I suppose it will definitely be the people here and how cool they are. Not just people I am friends with, but also people who I don’t interact with all the time.
Wertman breaks Earlham record at Intercollegiate
By Aleta Cox
The men’s track team found a little success this weekend at the Indiana Intercollegiate Track (Little State) competition at Indiana Wesleyan University, as senior Chris Shaw and junior Chad Wertman placed in their respective events, Wertman with a record-breaking throw.
Wertman’s toss of 53-6 1/2 was good enough for second place and also surpassed Earlham’s record of 52 1/2, thrown by Bill Newcomb ’68, a member of the Earlham Athletics Hall of Fame. Shaw placed third in the discus with a throw of 163-6.
“It felt great to break the record,” said Wertman. “That record has been on the record board since 1967 and to break a record that old is amazing and the feeling was amazing.”
Shaw and Wertman were the only two Quaker men to place at IWU. While both athletes provisionally qualified for the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III National Championship in May with their current marks, both feel as though there is room for improvement in the following weeks of their season.
“I was disappointed in my mark because I wasn’t able to better my mark from the previous week,” said Shaw. “I’m looking forward to the competition this weekend at Manchester, and feel confident that I will be able to improve my provisional mark of 164-4. My overall goal is to move that mark to 170 for Nationals.”
Wertman and junior Ramona Hemmings were selected as North Coast Athletic Conference Athletes of the Week for their respective performances at the meet.
Just as they have had success throughout the season, Hemmings and sophomore Elizabeth Ross led the women’s squad, while junior Meredith Naugthon also provided additional points.
Hemmings took second place in triple jump with a distance of 35-10 1/2. Ross tied for sixth place in the high jump, with a height of 4-11 3/4. Naughton placed sixth as well, with a height of 9 1/4 in the pole vault.
“The Indiana Intercollegiate meet is always fun because there are so many schools there,” said Hemmings. “It’s a chance to really see how you compare to other athletes in your field. I love going to the meet every year and I am happy with how I preformed at this year’s meet.”
Track will continue their season at Manchester College Invite tomorrow, followed by the Outdoor Track Championships next weekend at Ohio Wesleyan University.
Rugby teams run forward through spring games
By Aleta Cox
As the weather gets warm, several club sports, including rugby, have taken to the open spaces of grass fields for practices and matches, as they look to continue building a strong rugby program here at Earlham.
Senior Will Vincent affirms the three basic rules of rugby, as he learned them from alumnus Mac Lehmann.
“Number one: You can only ever pass backwards. Number two: You always run forward. Number three: Always run in support of your teammates, which means don’t be in front of them, since they can only pass backwards,” said Vincent.
Men’s rugby has been putting those rules, and other more intricate ones, into action lately, as they have been practicing twice a week near the entrance of campus, as well as playing in a few matches against other schools.
On April 3, the team traveled to Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) and played against Oberlin College last weekend.
In order to prepare for their matches, the team tries to incorporate more than just physical practice. For instance, they also have video sessions, where they study and look at how they are performing, and ways to improve their game.
“One thing that EC rugby has going that I think a lot of programs miss out on is that almost all of our boys are dedicated to rugby from the time they join to graduation, and beyond most times,” said Vincent. “It’s a great community of guys and that is a lot of what rugby is about. Rugby is a sport that cannot be won by individuals.”
Another member of the rugby team, senior Andres Guzman, knows all about this passion to the program that Vincent quotes his teammates as having. Guzman found and fell in love with rugby while studying abroad in France, and has since increased his participation here at Earlham and back home in Mexico.
“For the season here at Earlham, of course I want to beat Oberlin and Hanover and I want to leave a good and well rounded team for when I leave, to make sure rugby keeps going at Earlham,” said Guzman. “But I plan on returning to Mexico and getting in prime rugby shape, ideally make the national team there.”
Clearly, the passion is there for the men’s players, as they look forward to improving on their organization and teamwork skills this season.
“Rugby has a social aspect too, it’s not just hard-hitting. We party, hang out, talk and rely on one another for support,” said junior Will Alderfer.
Women’s Rugby: Come One, Come All!
Women’s rugby knows all about the dedication and passion it takes to build a successful rugby program, as Earlham women have recently formed their own team.
Last weekend marked their first matches of the season, in which they played several high school teams in order to gain experience. The first game of the day proved to be relatively unsuccessful, due to a stalwart Catholic school they faced, but also due to inexperience on Earlham’s part.
“I think the game helped us work together as a team and have some valuable playing time,” said freshman Kara Russell. “Our second match was against a team more our level so we had a chance to really push ourselves. Playing is so fast-paced, fun, and exhausting.”
Head coach junior Sara Mitchell-Olds and some veteran women rugby players were able to step up and provide support for the younger players, allowing for the women’s team to play a much more solid second game.
“I took over the main coaching gig this school year from Leah Pope, who served as my ever loyal and helpful co-captain,” Mitchell-Olds said. “I have only played rugby at Earlham, so along with that knowledge and a well-read copy of ‘Rugby For Dummies,’ I did my best to put together drills that would serve to teach as much about basic rugby skills as I could manage within the time frame.”
She added, “Rugby is a sport for any tough woman; there is a position for any and every shape and size and skill level! It’s great fun!”
“I’d never played rugby and I’d never really seen it being played before, so I was completely oblivious to everything I experienced as a new player,” said freshman Anna Marie Taylor. “But the elders on the team were really good at teaching us the rules and the technique of the game and helping us improve in practice so that we could perform well in the games.”
The women’s rugby team will play their last game tomorrow at Kenyon College. This match will be the last for the three graduating seniors: Anna Deering, Nadia Robinson and Leah Pope.
Next year, freshman Karina Rodriguez and sophomore Yusra Saleh will be taking over as coach and convenor.
Baseball takes one of four against Wabash
By Bryant Foreman
The first doubleheader in the series against the Wabash Little Giants was bittersweet for senior baseball captain Jake Carr. Carr broke yet another record on Saturday as he pushed his way to the top of the list for career RBI’s with 93, but the Quakers lost both games in the doubleheader.
Carr, an all-conference catcher/infielder, said, “It’s a really good feeling to know that all of the hard work over the years has paid off, and now I really have something to show for it.”
However, the Little Giants defeated the Quakers in both contests of the day 8-5 and 20-8, respectively. On Sunday, the Quakers lost one game 17-11 but managed to finish the weekend on a positive note, winning the last game of the series 6-5.
Junior infielder Andrew Morrical and sophomore outfielder Tyler Schroeder highlighted the first game early on for Earlham when they both hit singles in the first frame. Junior pitcher Corey Murray had two RBI’s to advance the two runners home. However, a late game run by the Little Giants left the Quakers in the dust as they fell 8-5.
Junior pitcher Adam Painter opened up on the mound for six innings. Freshman pitcher Shawn Kinnett then relieved Painter for the remainder of the game.
The second game was by far the hardest for Earlham to swallow, as they lost 20-8. Notable plays from this game were freshman catcher Nate Chandler’s home run and freshman infielder Ross Yoho’s triple.
The next day, Yoho continued his success at the plate with two home runs during the first double header on Sunday.
“I was really comfortable at the plate today. I changed my stance up on the left side today so I felt really good in the cage before the game,” he said. “In the fifth and sixth inning I felt like we had a great chance to hold on and keep our lead with the pitchers we had coming in, but we were just unable to hold onto it.”
Although Earlham fell 11-17 in the first contest on Sunday, junior first baseman Conner Gable and freshman infielder Chris Baumann had two hits a piece for the Quakers.
Graduate Assistant Coach Kevin Greve said after the first game on Sunday, “We need to continue to hit the ball, which we did well. And just keep playing better defense, and just get the freshman comfortable in their spots on the field.”
Photo by Elsa Haag
Earlham faced a disadvantage in the number of players for the doubleheaders, as Wabash’s roster features 33 players, compared to Earlham’s 14.
However, Greve thinks this fact doesn’t reflect a disadvantage in the level of play.
“While Wabash brings a lot of players to the table, we bring a lot of talent — young talent — that will be around for the next few years,” he said. “We also have a number of players who are fully capable of playing more than one position which is great to have.”
In the only win of the weekend, Baumann came out of the final game against Wabash as the team hero. Not only did Baumann finish the game at the mound in relief for the Quakers, but he knocked in the winning run, a walk-off single in the seventh inning that led his team to victory, 6-5. Schroeder led Earlham with three hits, while Carr and Gable added two hits as well.
They will also play a weekend two-game doubleheader series against Robert Morris-Springfield at home today and tomorrow, both at 1 p.m.
The Quakers played Defiance College on Wednesday, falling 14-5 at home at McBride Stadium.
James dominates today; tomorrow belongs to Bryant
By Toivo Asheeke
With the NBA playoffs upon us, I feel the time is right for me to attempt to write a basketball article!
Over the past two years, there has been much debate surrounding who the best player in the NBA is right now. This exhilarating and often times heated debate orbits primarily around two players of unbelievable natural ability and drive.
LeBron James from the Cleveland Cavaliers and Kobe Bryant from the Los Angeles Lakers are to most minds the two best players in the league. There are strong arguments that support both sides, and in this article I will attempt to briefly summarize them and finally offer my opinion on the question at hand.
Standing at 6’8” and weighing 250 pounds of solid muscle blended with cat-like agility and freakish athleticism, James is a physical specimen such as the NBA has never seen before. Since he entered the league, James has possessed point guard passing and handling abilities in addition to having the physical tools to get to the rim whenever he wants.
Since he entered the league in 2003 as the first overall draft pick (out of high school) of the Cavaliers, James has averaged 27.8 points, 6.9 assists and 7.0 rebounds, and reminds many experts who watch him of Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson.
Lofty praise indeed, but well deserved, as James has consistently increased his offensive and especially his defensive arsenal since he entered the league. This improvement fueled his win of the 2008-09 Most Valuable Player and has assured that he will win this year’s 2009-10 MVP as well.
However, James has yet to win an NBA Championship, and in order to earn his spot as one of the greatest of all time, this is a category in which he needs to win something.
In addition to this, James’ shooting skills are still average by NBA standards and when one looks at his overall offensive skill set in separation from his athletic abilities, one finds a player no different from others who play in the league. Hopefully as time goes on he will improve, as all great players do, on this aspect of his game!
If LeBron James can be described as a hammer cracking his opponents’ heads open, Kobe Bryant can be looked at as a coldblooded assassin snuffing the life out of his enemies.
In terms of his offensive arsenal, in other words the ways in which Kobe Bryant can score the ball, there maybe has never been a player like him. He can score in variety of ways from all over the basketball court, which makes him a nightmare to guard. His superior technique, natural talent, insane work ethic and cold-blooded killer instincts at the end of a game make Bryant deadly.
Although at age 32, with 14 years of long NBA seasons wearing on his body and his athleticism not what it once was, Bryant still finds a way to dominate. His ability to lock down his man as well as quarterback the Lakers team to titles makes him in many people’s eyes the heir to Michael Jordan. Bryant is also an under-rated passer and, like James, has the ability to make his teammates better.
Some of the critiques of Bryant’s game are that he is too selfish and dominates the ball too much as he tries to impose his will on a game. Instead of trusting his teammates to make plays and help him win, he pushes himself harder to win, forgetting his team.
Another issue with Bryant is his inability to make things work on the court with Shaquille O’Neil (one of the greatest centers of all time). Furthermore, the three titles Bryant did win prior to his fourth; Shaq was the NBA Finals MVP and the best player on the team, not Bryant. Thusly, Bryant’s success in this league has come in tandem with other talented players, unlike with James, who for his entire career had to carry the Cavaliers himself.
All in all, either pick one makes is a defendable and sound one. In my opinion however, Bryant is the best player right now. He isn’t playing as well as James is, but he has had a lot of injuries this year that have slowed him down.
But we must not forget that this is the man who scored 81 points in an NBA game against the Raptors in 2006 and 62 over just three quarters against the powerful Mavericks that same year. His game winners are uncountable and his ability to win games deep into the playoffs is breathtaking.
James, I believe, will eventually be the best and that time is indeed at hand, but at the moment, the NBA Championship resides in Los Angeles as well as the league’s best player.
Baseball wins two after tough weekend
By Bryant Foreman
The baseball team came home to win a doubleheader against Cincinnati Christian University (CCU) on Wednesday after falling in two doubleheaders at Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) this past weekend. Earlham beat CCU 3-0 and 13-11.
Due to the Easter Holiday, the Quakers played their first doubleheader against OWU on Friday, where they were defeated by a prepared Bishops team, 0-4 and 5-3. The second day didn’t come any easier as the Quakers were swept by the Bishops, losing the games, 2-4 and 2-20.
However, senior catcher/ infielder Jake Carr highlighted the second game on Friday for the Quakers as he grounded out with an RBI to bring in freshman outfielder Nate Reynolds in the third inning. Although it was seemingly a routine play for Carr, it was his 90th RBI, bringing him to the number two slot on the alltime list for RBIs. Bobby Ebright (’95-’97) holds the record at 92.
In the third game of the weekend, Carr added one more RBI, leaving him one away from the record.
In the first game on Friday, the Quakers seemed like they would threaten to score during the first inning as freshman infielder Chris Baumann hit a single shot, but the rest of the team couldn’t respond for the remainder of the game. In fact, Baumann’s hit would turn out to be the only one of the first game.
Junior pitcher/first baseman Conner Gable worked most of the game for the Quakers, getting three runs on six hits, and had four walks and three strikeouts.
The Quakers showed a little more promise in the second game when they scored two times in the third inning, threatening to take the lead with OWU up 3-2.
However, the Quakers could not follow their momentum produced early in the game, and they were defeated 5-3.
“We struggled to find a point in the game where we were consistent at the plate during one inning and use it to build us up in the next,” Carr said. “Once we get that kind of production in multiple innings, I think it will improve our record a lot.”
After Ohio Wesleyan had scored three times, junior Corey Murray highlighted the game with a solo home run in the fourth inning, closing the gap 3-2.
Although the team was defeated in the third contest of the four-game series, junior pitcher Adam Painter pitched a complete game, giving up four runs on eight hits, with one walk and six strikeouts.
The last game of the series was the hardest to accept, as the Bishops dealt the Quakers a blowout, beating them by a significant margin of 18 runs.
“Although the wind played a role on Saturday, both teams were forced to adjust when batting and Ohio Wesleyan did just that,” junior Andrew Morrical said. “We just weren’t prepared for it and need to concentrate on striking the ball consistently.”
Baumann said, “For the rest of the season we just need to worry about one game at a time and then go from there.”
After getting off to a slow start, including giving up five runs by the second inning, the Bishops sealed their win in the fourth and final game of the series. In the third inning alone, they scored 11 runs.
The Quakers will next host the Wabash Little Giants at McBride Stadium this weekend, both tomorrow and Sunday.
“Wabash is a great ball club,” said Baumann. “We are going to have to work together and back up our pitching staff at the plate. If we play our game, we are more than capable of beating them this weekend.”
Both doubleheaders will begin at 1 p.m.
Trio of student-athletes helps kids in Indy
By Aleta Cox
Three Earlham students participated in community service and were honored as outstanding student-athletes by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) last Thursday, April 1, as part of the NCAA’s Student- Athlete Day.
According to the NCAA Web site, the NCAA’s Student-Athlete Day recognizes the accomplishments of student-athletes nationwide who excel in the classroom, on the playing fields and in their communities. This year, senior soccer player Franny Newport and senior basketball players Katy Buda and Jayana Sims participated in the day’s events.
The day began at 8:30 a.m. when student-athletes from several Indiana colleges arrived at the NCAA’s Hall of Champions to meet with a group of 75 campers from an Indianapolis camp called Dream Keepers. The children ranged from ages 5 to 12, and student-athletes were assigned to each of the age groups.
Thanks to the warm weather, student-athletes and campers were able to participate in five outdoor stations that included healthy eating, character building, diversity, teamwork, and role modeling.
The stations were designed to be interactive, and although NCAA staff gave instructions, it was the duty of the student-athletes to encourage and direct the children through each of the activities.
“I was assigned with kids from the oldest age group, so getting them to participate in and really interact with the station’s message was challenging,” said Newport.
The morning events lasted from 9 a.m. to noon with a break for lunch before continuing from 1-3 p.m.
The afternoon included a community service project at King Park in northwest Indianapolis. NCAA staff members, studentathletes and campers came together with local Indianapolis Park and Recreation members to plant trees and spread mulch. An entire playground and nearly 30 trees were re-mulched, and around 15 trees were planted.
“My favorite part of the day was getting to work outside with the kids, helping beautify the park and having lots of fun with the kids at the same time,” Buda said. “It showed me that I can really make an impact in the community and in kids’ lives.”
In addition to the day’s value as a learning and service experience, student-athlete participants were honored with a certificate and a National Student-Athlete Day sweatshirt.
“This is perhaps the first year that the NCAA has held a service project in conjunction with the Final Four events; we have sent student-athletes to the NCAA in the past, but not for events like this one,” said Assistant Athletic Director Jill Butcher. “This opportunity was a special one that I am glad we chose to participate in.”
The participants in this year’s Student-Athlete Day expressed encouragement for future participation in the event.
“It was really rewarding and it provided a fun opportunity to get to know other athletes from other schools, as well as the opportunity for some of our own athletes who play different sports to get to spend some quality time together,” said Newport.
Buda said, “I would tell future student-athletes to take this opportunity if it’s given to them, because it’s fun, a time to spend time with an amazing group of kids, and it’s great to be recognized by the NCAA as an outstanding student-athlete.”
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